Mikado DefendersReview

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Another tower defense game attacks the iPhone. Does it have what it takes to stand out in an over-crowded genre?

By Daemon Hatfield

You've used towers to defend your fields, your lawn, and even outer space -- now it's time to defend ancient Japan. Mikado Defenders is a tower defense game that replaces the towers with samurai tasked with protecting your castle from invading demons. It's fun enough while it lasts and has a great art style but there are only five levels and four soldiers to utilize, making for a rather shallow game.

This is one of those tower defense games where you can only summon units on preordained build sites. Tap a spot, select a unit, and it will attack any enemies that wander into its territory. If the bad guys make it through your defenses to your castle they start to tear down the walls, and if they succeed it's game over. Fallen enemies provide you with money you can use to summon new units, upgrade them, and also fortify your castle walls. Each demon you slay also helps fill your Guardian Spirit's meter, and when it's full you can unleash the power of this beast and annihilate every bad guy on screen -- very handy in a pinch. This is a pretty challenging game and even the "easy" difficulty will test your tactical skills on the later levels (and since there are only five maps, you'll arrive at the later levels before you know it).

Thumbs up for the great artwork. Thumbs down for the shallow gameplay.

This game doesn't do a great job of explaining all of its features. For example, you can call generals into battle to boost the morale of your troops. When you start a new game you have one general, and are promised you can unlock more. But after completing every stage I still had just the one. Oh well, guess I didn't need them.

Mikado Defenders really shines in the visual department. The stylized scenery and fluid brush strokes look like an ancient Japanese art scroll come to life. Like many tower defense games on the iPhone, you can pinch the screen to zoom in and get a close view of the battle.

Even though this is a short game, it is extended somewhat -- for the wrong reason. Loading screens drag on and on, and you have to sit through four of them just to get into a game. Want to check the options menu? Prepare for another loading screen. On my iPhone 3G the game also freezes periodically for just a moment.

The Verdict

Mikado Defenders ends up being a disappointment because it looks so promising at first glance. A tower defense game set in ancient Japan with an art style that looks like a living Japanese scroll? Sounds great. But the gameplay ends up being shallower than other efforts in the genre and the long loading times make for a sluggish experience.